Hazel Gertrude Jenkins is a South African politician and former

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

of the

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

province. She served as Premier from May 2009 until she officially stood down in April 2013, following a stroke. The motion to recognise her stepping down as Premier (on medical grounds) was defeated in a vote by the legislature on 30 April 2013 so that technically Jenkins remained Premier. Hence Sylvia Lucas was sworn in on 30 April not as Jenkins' successor but as Acting Premier. Jenkins subsequently resigned, as of 22 May 2013, paving the way for Lucas to be sworn in as her successoron 23 May 2013.

Background and political career

Aged 49 at the time that she assumed office as Premier, Jenkins had been the Mayor of the

Pixley ka Seme Pixley ka Isaka Seme (c. 1881 – June 1951) was a South African lawyer and a founder and President of the African National Congress. Early life Seme was born the fourth son of Sinono Kuwana Seme in Durban, in what was then called the Colony of ...

(formerly Bo Karoo) District Municipality, at De Aar in the

Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ext ...

. Previously she was a teacher. Born on 6 June 1960 in Ceres in the Western Cape, she was educated in Worcester, matriculating from the Esselen Park High School. She graduated with a teaching diploma from the

Bellville Training College Bellville may refer to: ;Argentina * Bell Ville, Córdoba ;South Africa * Bellville, Western Cape ** Bellville railway station ;United States * Bellville, Georgia * Bellville, Missouri * Bellville, Ohio * Bellville, Texas Bellville is a ci ...

, with her first posting as a teacher at

Rocklands High School Rocklands is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk which encompasses the villages of Rockland All Saints and Rockland St Peter. It covers an area of and had a population of 702 in 282 households at the 2001 census, increasing to a ...

in Mitchell's Plain, Cape Town. Jenkins was a Youth Councillor in the Anglican Church. In 1995 Jenkins was elected as a Councillor in De Aar's Emthanjeni Local Municipality, going on to serve as Executive Mayor for the Bo-Karoo District Municipality. She served two terms as the Deputy Chairperson of the South African Local Government Association.

Premier of the Northern Cape

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, following the landslide victory of the ruling African National Congress in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, Jenkins was announced as the party's nominee for

of the

, in succession to

Dipuo Peters Elizabeth Dipuo Peters (born 13 May 1960 in Kimberley, Northern Cape) was the Minister of Transport of the Republic of South Africa from 10 July 2013 until 30 March 2017, in the Zuma administration, and former Minister of Energy from 2009 to 201 ...

. The announcement drew criticism from the provincial ANC branch, however, which was annoyed at the sidelining of its chairperson John Block. Jenkins said at the time: "We will work as a united force. Contrary to what some might say about the premier being a puppet on a string, we will work as a collective..." Block pledged his support, adding "I still remain the political head of the Province and together with the PEC (Provincial Executive Council) will assist and guide Jenkins and the rest of the Executive Council." Her Premiership became effective on 6 May 2009.

Appointment of Acting Premiers

Jenkins collapsed, suffering a stroke, while delivering her 2012 State of the Province Address in Kimberley on 17 February 2012, and was admitted to the intensive care unit at Kimberley Hospital. The Executive Council of the Province met on 20 February, unanimously resolving to appoint the MEC for Education, Ms

Grizelda Cjiekella Grizelda Boniwe Cjiekella was MEC (Member of the Executive Council) for Education in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa, and served as Acting Premier of the province from 20 February 2012 until 2 April 2013. Early life and education Cjiekel ...

, as Acting Premier for the duration of Premier Hazel Jenkins’ incapacity leave. Premier Jenkins, following a lengthy hospital stay, made a surprise first public appearance at the Northern Cape ANC elective conference in Upington on 7 June 2012. "She appeared healthy," reported the media, "singing and dancing along with President

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

and other members of the party’s upper echelons." On April 2, 2013, Hazel Jenkins officially stepped down from the post of Premier of the Northern Cape and was to be succeeded by

Sylvia Lucas Sylvia Elizabeth Lucas (born 22 April 1964) is the current Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces in the Republic of South Africa, after having taken office on 23 May 2019. From 2013 to 2019, she served as the 4th Premier of the ...

, the Provincial Minister for Environmental Affairs. However the motion to recognize Jenkins' stepping down was opposed on procedural grounds. A vote in the Northern Cape legislature on 30 April 2013, in which opposition parties COPE and the Democratic Alliance took part, failed to achieve the required two thirds support for the motion to be carried. Accordingly, Jenkins technically remained premier and Lucas was sworn in on the same day as Grizelda Cjiekella's successor as acting premier of the province. Jenkins resigned as premier with effect from 22 May 2013, paving the way of Lucas to be sworn in as her successor.

Political speeches

Inaugural Address, Provincial Legislature, Northern Cape, 11 May 2009

Reply to the debate following her Inaugural Address, Provincial Legislature, Northern Cape, 19 May 2009

State of the Province Address, Provincial Legislature, Northern Cape, 12 June 2009

State of the Province Address, Provincial Legislature, Northern Cape, 18 February 2010

State of the Province Address, Provincial Legislature, Northern Cape, 18 February 2011
* It was while delivering her 2012 State of the Province Address in Kimberley on 17 February 2012 that Premier Hazel Jenkins collapsed, suffering a stroke.Premier suffers stroke; Jenkins needs time to recover. ''Diamond Fields Advertiser'' 20 Feb 2012, pp 1-3

Notes

* South African Press Association (SAPA).
Zuma: 'Those not put in govt must not cry'
" '' Mail & Guardian''. 4 May 2009. (accessed May 4, 2009).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Hazel 1960 births Living people People from Ceres, Western Cape Cape Coloureds African National Congress politicians Premiers of the Northern Cape Women premiers of South African provinces Members of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature 20th-century South African politicians 20th-century South African women politicians 21st-century South African politicians 21st-century South African women politicians